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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 



REFLECTIONS 



BY 

HARRIET W. FOSTER 



AUG I9J89S 



"™£%\ % 



New York : 46 East 14th Street 
THOMAS Y. CROWELL & COMPANY 

Boston : 100 Purchase Street 



75^4- 






Copyright, 1895, 
By Harriet W. Foster. 



Typogeapqy by C. J. Peters & 
Boston. 



REFLECTIONS. 



To your loved ones be faithful and true. 



GOOD-NIGHT. 

Good-night, dear friend ! God watch o'er thee, 
Sweet be thy sleep till morning's welcome light ; 

Sleep thou ! and dream of happy days to come, 
Watched o'er by faithful angels of the night. 

God bless her ! whether sleeping or awake, 

Within His keeping, sure is found complete repose \ 

Cease care ! and be the din of discord hushed. 
She sleeps ! of what she dreams, who knows ? 



'"FHHSTK of our influence over others ; what a world 
of responsibility is ours ! What we do now stands 
as a living example with some, — they never see us 
after to-day. 

Live a life worth imitating. 



O EJOICE to-day ! make all happy who are here ; 
^ it may be, ere long, you will miss one from your 
hearth and home. 



4 REFLECTIONS. 

PRAYER. 

When weary, sad, and lonely, the heart to Jesus 

turns, 
He knows our griefs, our longings, He bears for us 

our load ! 
Each tear He marks with sadness, each sigh He 

hears us breathe, 
With pity He beholds us ; for love the Father 

yearns. 

Why doubt His ever presence, child of sin and 

shame ? 
Behold thy Master standing outside the door fast 

closed ; 
Make ready now thy portal, and bid the Healer in ! 
With balm and precious ointment, He comes in His 

own name. 

Pray thou ! and He will hear thee ; at morn, or noon, 

or night, 
He heeds our weak petitions when said with doubt 

or fear; 
No prayer, however humble, but what He always 

hears ; 
A child, however sin-stained, is precious in His 

sight. 

Live, expecting thy summons at any time. 



One breath, a tear, a sigh, and we are gone. 



REFLECTIONS. 



CONFESS IT NOW. 



Confess I will ! I love her well, 
The maid I met some time ago ; 
You ask, and does she love me too ? 
I dare not say, I cannot tell. 

Sometimes we are loved, but know it not ; 
We never will, how strange to say. 
Why keep from those who crave it most 
The love they seek, but find it not ? 

Year after year jom love them too, 
But, somehow, dare not tell them so ; 
You wait and wait, they yet remain ; 
You think not they may die ere you. 

You keep your secret till they are dead, 
And o'er their lifeless forms confess 
The love you felt, and told it not ; 
Too late ! you have left it all unsaid. 

Friends, say you love before I'm dead ; 
Life will be worth the living then ; 
To live, be loved — to die, be mourned ; 
Remembered too by kind words said. 



Pray for thy friend, departed, gone. 

Speed thou her soul to heaven's high throne ! 
She needs thy prayers, they cost thee but a tear — 

Naught, naught, but these for sins atone. 



REFLECTIONS. 



REVERIE. 



I count the years since they were here ; 
Time's rosary, too, records each year ; 
Ah me ! how long and drear the time 
Since they've been gone, the loved and near. 

While musing in the even tide, 
Or weeping by the firelight's glow, 
I rise and say, with trembling voice, 
" God, comfort give Thy servant tried." 

And when at night I take my rest, 
I know the angels gather near ; 
I sleep and dream, oh, bliss complete ! 
I wake and say, " God knew the best." 

My Father, bid me while I'm here, 
My dear ones love, who dwell with Thee ; 
And when Thy summons reach my ear, 
Speed me to Thee and friends so dear. 



True friendship is priceless. 



WOULD love my friend as I love my life, and 
my Maker better than either. 



T T OW dreary is a life without one loving friend ! 
Compare that life to a day without the sun- 
beams. 



REFLECTIONS. 7 

'"FHERE is nothing dearer in all the world than 
a loving, loyal friend for all times ; in joy or 
sorrow, sickness or health, poverty or wealth, that 
true friend abides. 

What a comfort she is as the years roll on ! her 
presence is like the gladsome, cheering sun, making 
happy all who come within her power. What rest 
and assurance we seem possessed of when with that 
one ! how trustful we are of her ! and, when parted, 
we still feel that she is with us ; we are not alone ; 
in our memory she holds a place ; time, separation, 
nor the turmoil of our busy lives, can efface her 
from the table of our hearts ; we feel her influence 
at all times. 

Such should true friendship be — trustful, loving, 
and self-sacrificing, each living for the other. 



'"THINK not what you would like to be, without 
working for it. Trust in God alone ; go where 
He leads you ; do as He commands. Obeying these, 
you will be happy while here, and rewarded here- 
after. 

LOYALTY. 

What if others please thy fancy ? 

Would you pass the tried friend by ? 
Kill the tender plant of friendship, 

Stand and see it droop and die ? 



REFLECTIONS. 

Faithless are such transient natures ; 

Cruel, too, are such as these ; 
Some may say — we love as ever, 

Only do these things to tease. 

But, my friend, tease not the loved one ; 

Blush to find thyself untrue ; 
Let thy love be pure and changeless ; 

Keep the heart-strings strong and true. 



Be kind to the aged ; they were once young like 
ourselves. 

A TRAVELLER. 

With eyes the worse for weeping, and garments torn 
and stained, 
A traveller, worn and weary, sat down by the road 
to rest. 
His feet were bare and bruised, and burned by sum- 
mer's heat ; 
He sat unmoved and listless, with his head upon 
his breast. 

He was aged, that was certain, to the one who saw 
him there ; 
His hair was white and flowing, a patriarch he 
seemed ; 
His staff had fallen unnoticed, for he slept as pil- 
grims sleep ; 
None knew from where he journeyed, none knew 
of what he dreamed. 



REFLECTIONS. 9 

Thus he slept for many hours ; no one cared to wake 
him then ; 
Only one kept faithful vigil, all alone, unseen, un- 
heard, 
Guarding well the aged sleeper, as the shades of 
night came on, 
Watching, listening, all was silent, save his breath- 
ing — that was heard. 

Just as if to add more beauty to the picture here 
portrayed, 
The golden sunset lingered, that told of parting 
day; 

Yet he slept on, all unmindful of the glories here 
revealed ; 
Sweetest sleep, that knew no waking, bore his 
soul from earth away. 

Free from care, from trouble ever, now the pilgrim 
gains his home; 
Gates of Eden always open for poor wanderers 
such as he; 
God's sweet smile makes bright the pathway, and 
from Him we gather strength; 
Sorrow, pain, are all forgotten when our Father's 
face we see. 

We are all pilgrims, but nearer home to-day. 

How unkind for us to reason with God, or think 
his laws and commandments are not just. 



10 REFLECTIONS. 

A TREASURE. 

A treasure in a casket, 
A ring she used to wear ; 

"Tis a jewelled, golden circlet, 
That priceless keepsake there. 

Every day I take the casket, 
And lift the lid with care ; 

No dust rests on the cover, 
But, instead, a tear is there. 

I look and gaze upon it, 

My treasure kept with care, 

Full knowing, now in Paradise, 
She waits my coming there. 



TTOW miserable we would be if we knew we were 
never to look upon the faces of the dear de- 
parted again ! 

'"T'HEKE are certain endearing qualities in every 
one, if we would but take the trouble to bring 
them out. Beneath the clouded, dull covering of the 
diamond, there is the gem. The true beauty of 
the stone is found after working hard to bring its 
attractive inner value and wealth of brilliancy to the 
surface. 

So it is with people, — many of us carry clouded, 
dull faces ; but back of these there is something 



REFLECTIONS. 11 

valuable, something to be loved. No one but the 
ready, willing workman, who draws these beauties 
out with the tools of human kindness, can love this 
valued gem as it ought to be loved. 

We must work untiringly to produce these effects. 
Beneath the outer covering of man's nature, there 
slumber brilliant ideas, noble thoughts, true, loving 
hearts, loyal to God and man. 

Well is the workman worthy of his hire who 
brings to light such hidden treasures, far surpassing 
the brilliancy of the rarest gem. Many and many 
are the jewels hidden, lying idle, growing dull and 
more clouded day after day, waiting for sympa- 
thetic, willing hands to bring forth latent beauties 
of the mind and heart. 

It is your duty and mine to collect, polish, and 
watch over these priceless treasures, made to shine 
in our Father's home. 



A REQUEST. 

Think of me when I am absent, pray for me when 
I'm away. 
I shall wander amid strangers, far from you and 
home I'll be ; 
But for thee a prayer I'll offer at the closing of each 
day; 
My last thought, ere slumber cometh, shall be al- 
ways, dear, of thee. 



12 REFLECTIONS. 

It is not the years that make us age, but our cares 
and trials. 

SEPARATED. 

Good-by ! but may our separation be short-lived ; 

God with thee be, while journeying on thy way. 
Life's pathway sure is strewn with many a stone, 

While many, many evils beset thy course each day. 

Dear friend, alway I would be with thee if I could ; 

Would have thee near, my f roward heart to cheer ; 
But, not for me, — some other wins the prize I love 
so well ; 
But, ere thou goest, think, I ask, of by-gone days 
so dear. 

And as you wander, think of me sometimes, left 
dreary and alone. 
I need not promise, for 'twas loving thee too well 
that parts us now to-day ; 
My jealous nature and your indifferent spirit clashed, 
that's all ; 
Enough to know that friendship's tie was sun- 
dered in this way. 

But ere we part, dear friend, forgive me, if I've 
erred. 
Was I not loyal, loving, trustful, until the doubter 
came? 
In thee I found, accepted, the friend my heart did 
choose ; 
And ever a thing sacred will be to me thy name. 



BEFLECTIONS lo 

One kiss, friend ! before we go our each appointed 
way; 
Say, dear one, ere thou goest, you loved me once, 
that's all. 
Perhaps in years to come I'll gain what now I lose ; 
In battles all we win or lose, in conflicts rise or 
fall. 

T T OW sad to think of our passing from this world 
without one noble, lasting deed done — upon 
the pages of the recording angel's book not a deed 
worth ascribing to our name to be found ! Why did 
we hide our talents ? Why let opportunities slip 
away ? What reward can we expect to receive from 
the great Master, when we shall have come into His 
presence, when we have done nothing for Him ? 
What a man soweth, he must certainly expect to reap. 



T TOW selfish is the man who lives for self alone, 
who finds not in this world one loving, loyal 
friend ! There is somewhere, waiting for each one 
of us, a soul akin to ours. 



Be patient, endure much ; . God will reward thee. 



If we refuse to do what God ordains, why accept 
His blessings ? 



14 REFLECTIONS. 

BE TRUE. 

Could you know the griefs, the losses, that perplex 

the good and true, 
Know the meaning of their sadness, know just why 

the heart doth bleed — 
You, perchance, would be more patient, pardoning 

every seeming wrong ; 
In each heart is locked a secret, buried deep, unknown 

to you. 

Murmur not when they are worried ; they have trials 

such as you ; 
Hopes once bright were blighted, shattered, killed by 

Fate's relentless hand. 
Could you know the griefs, the losses, that thy friend 

has had to bear, 
You would be more loving, tender, if the truth you 

really knew. 

Let us love the dear ones with us, and remember 

those away ; 
Make life happy for the living, they compose our 

little world ; 
Make the fireside ring with gladness, for thy life, thy 

joy, are there ; 
And the vacant chair hold sacred, priceless is its 

worth to-day. 



Let little jostles be set right as soon as possible. 



REFLECTIONS. 15 

T F you have anything good to say about another, say 
* it now ; do not wait until he is dead. You do not 
know how bright you could make his pathway through 
this world, if you would say now the tender, loving 
things you are treasuring up to breathe o'er his life- 
less form. 



"TpHINK it not unkind when affliction befalls thee ; 
*■ it is all for the best that it is sent. God calls 
those whom He loves ; and why should He not claim 
His own jewels, to shine in His home, though our 
own is made dreary ? Yes, it seems hard for this to 
be true, that it is all for the best. But wait ; soon, 
when, like the tired pilgrim, thou shalt fall, sick and 
weary, He will take thee home, to rejoice in finding 
friends from whom you have been separated. Then 
how true will be the saying that " it was all for the 
best ! " 



LONGINGS. 

We list to catch the music of the far-off voices 

there ; 
We long to know their anthems, to learn the sonr* 

divine : 
But no sound, however joyous, descends for us to 

hear ; 
We must wait a little longer, ere shall end this life 

of care. 



16 REFLECTIONS. 

Angel harpers ever singing, as they touch each string 

of gold, 
Sweetly through heaven's vaulted chambers roll 

seraphic strains afar; 
God's dear face shines full, resplendent, filling space 

with changeless light ; 
Happy homes for us are waiting — loving arms to us 

infold. 

Dreary days that we have waited — waited long the 

song to hear ; 
Weary hours without them with us — loved ones gone 

before. 
We would draw aside the curtain, had we strength to 

hold the folds ; 
But not yet ! for God will lift it when we end our 

labors here. 

Patiently we'll wait His coming, be it morn or noon 

or night ; 
While the morning stars are singing, He may bid us 

rise and go ; 
And perchance at early noontide we shall hear the 

summons then, 
Or at night appear in glory, grand ! triumphant ! clad 

in white. 



How happy we can make all about us if we try 
— by forgetting self ! 



REFLECTIONS. 17 

T T OW beautiful are flowers ! how we ought to prize 
them, sent by a loving Father to ornament this 
bright world of ours ! It really seems to me that we 
do not love or prize them half enough. Think of the 
sick rooms they brighten, how close and lovingly to 
our dead they nestle, the bride they adorn ; and as a 
sweet token of friendship they are dearly prized. 
What would we do without them ? What could take 
their place ? 

'""FHOSE of us who know the meaning of true friend- 
ship, and have dear, loyal friends, should stand 
by them, be true to them; let no little annoyance 
separate us. Life is too short to be forever quarrel- 
ling. True friends seldom have differences ; the love 
which they have for each other is too strong to be 
shaken by every trifle. 



V\7HAT is death but a refreshing sleep? Folded 
hands, closed eyes, hushed breath, then cometh 
this slumber. We shall not wake at the calling of 
our name, or when touched by a friend ; we shall 
then enjoy a rest that was promised us by God. 
When we shall fall asleep our friends will mourn; 
when we are removed to our sleeping apartment, 
called the grave, then they will know that we shall 
never return to this earth. When the Master calleth 
for us to arise from our narrow beds, we shall then 



18 REFLECTIONS. 

behold the sun for the first time, shining through the 
portals of Paradise, friends changed from mortals into 
angels ; the story of God and the throne becomes a 
reality. Recognition of loved ones, families reunited 
and Heaven gained, are the blessings which we shall 
receive after this repose. Mourn not, then ; the sleep 
and change will come to you. God will awake you 
and thy loved ones, bid you arise and enter the un- 
seen city together, there to live in endless joy forever. 



TT OW few know what true friendship is ! few are 
really fitted to be in every sense of the word 
an intimate friend. To be one, much is required ; if 
we truly loved, we would consider what our friend 
requires of us, a very slight demand for the pleasures 
and companionship we hold it our right and privilege 
to receive. 

First of all, be true. No friendship long exists 
where loyalty is wanting. Then we must love ; with- 
out this, the beautiful but tender plant called friend- 
ship dies for want of love to nourish it. We must 
be ever watchful ; guarding well ourselves, seeing 
that we are faithful, making our friend happy, never 
resorting to that petty, unkind device, called teasing \ 
for believe me when I say that no true, loving friend 
would do this ; a fickle nature may delight in it, but 
a sincere one abhors the very idea. Love will do 
everything. 



REFLECTIONS. 19 

And then, whatever you may do which wounds 
your friend — and you know it all better than she can 
tell you — it remains your solemn duty, be it ever so 
hard a thing, to bend your unyielding will, to " give 
in/' as we call it ; you must heal that wound, pro- 
vided you wish to keep your friend and both be 
happy ; there must be sacrifices made by each. 
~ Do not allow another to supplant your friend ; 
transitory natures permit this. Surely there can be 
nothing meaner or more cruel. I know of nothing 
worse. How false, and decidedly lacking in the finer 
qualities which go toward making a superior being 
this person is wanting. What else have you in this 
wide world but your friend ? Could you happily live 
out the remainder of your life without this friend, 
whom you have cast aside, simply because you had 
grown tired of her, or worse still, accepted another, 
perhaps more pleasing? Could you look this old, 
tried friend squarely in the face, that face once so 
dear to you, without your conscience pricking you? 
Could you listen to that tender, sweet voice, which 
has thrilled you so many times in the past, without 
weakening ? If so, you have a calloused heart. 
Trust your friend until you have reason to do other- 
wise. 

I believe with all my heart that jealousy never 
comes without cause. If we are indiscreet, and, I 
may say, foolish, enough to try our friend by doing 



20 REFLECTIONS. 

unfriendly acts, we must expect her to tell us by her 
actions that she is human ; if human, then jealous. 
It is a fact worth remembering, that there are a very 
few games but what two can play at ; and the best 
and truest friend will not endure severe testing with- 
out rebelling. 

A true friend is God's best gift to man ; and I 
would say to those who are fortunate enough to be 
blessed with one, to appreciate this priceless treasure ; 
be loyal, loving, trustful. Never tease, never allow 
another to steal into your heart, thus crowding out 
the old love ; for a friend has rights. Doing as you 
would like to be done by will make you happy, and 
you will surely be loved all the more. 



FAULTS. 

\\ /HY is it that our friends so often see our weak 
points, and never once think they possess just 
as many ? We are faulty in their eyes ; we are their 
target, at which they delight to aim and fire. How 
patiently we bear their wounds, which hurt all the 
more because of their cruelty ! But alas ! how often 
our loved ones do this ! 



T COULD not ask a friend to do that for me which 
would inflict pain upon him which I know I 
could not endure. 



REFLECTIONS. 21 

IN MEMOKIAM. 

Thy life remains a pattern, thy life on earth so pure ; 

Cares, trials, and thy crosses, ne'er turned thee from 
thy God ; 

The more they seemed to help thee, when darksome 
days appeared ; 

True, loving and forgiving — how did thy heart en- 
dure ? 

I will take thee for my pattern, while wandering, 

waiting here ; 
Ofttimes the way seems dreary — the burden hard 

to bear ; 
Then I pray — for thou didst do it, when on earth 

thou used to be ; 
If I follow in thy footsteps, I have nothing ill to fear. 



A SMILE, a tear, a sigh, joy, sorrow, pain : the 
first is born of joy ; a tear is sorrow's child ; 
while a sigh is the heart's own offspring. 



MIZPAH. 

He watches thee, He keepeth me, 

Safe in His care. 
Through paths untried, untrod, — 

He leadeth thee. 
e's near, no harm can come, 

Do not despair. 



22 REFLECTIONS. 

Loved one ! trust Him to-day, 
Doubt not, friend ! 

You He will watch and bless — 
Me He will stay. 

Our paths will meet some time, 
Our wanderings end. 

Safe, safe, beneath His eye, 
Thou shalt find rest ; 

And over me He'll watch — 
Fearless am I. 

At last we both shall say — 
Our lives He blessed. 

When darksome days are mine, 

I'll look to Thee ; 
Through threatening clouds may I 

See heaven's light ; 
Thy hand shall lead me on, 

On through the gloom. 
I shall with rapture hear — 

" Come unto Me." 



HOPE. 



\\ 7E all have what we call a star of hope. It is 
well that we should. Without this symbol of 
expectancy we would many times languish, and, at 
some dreadful, over-burdened moment, when forget- 
ful of self and those about us, sink into utter 



REFLECTIONS. 23 

despair. But thanks to a good, wise Providence, 
whose wisdom far exceeds our little store of knowl- 
edge, whose watchful eye never closes, whose guiding 
hand never misleads, — we hope on, through joy and 
sorrow, pain, disappointment, and the various vicissi- 
tudes of life through which frail humanity has to 
pass. In joy we still hope for more ; we wish for our 
cup of pleasure to overflow ; we hold it to the fount 
from whence flows all gladness, pure, and without the 
suggestion of anything strange in its clear brilliancy 
— our thin vessels we place beneath it, and catch and 
quaff the nectar which we never tire of. 

In sorrow and pain, how looks our star then ? Is it 
in the ascendancy, or does it wane ? We hope while 
life lasts, — we hope for the better. When sickness 
lays some loved one low, when death robs us of a 
dear friend, how many look with the eye of faith to 
its companion, hope ? 

W^e hope that some day we shall see that dear de- 
parted brother or sister ; we hope that they will know 
us, after many years of separation, when we shall 
see them again in our last and endless home. 

Then, again, when the great ocean, it may be, sepa- 
rates us from some one we once loved, our course 
through life has been changed by some cruel disap- 
pointment, a shadow has fallen over our path, that 
one who went from us in anger or doubt — do we 
not keep on hoping, yea, praying, that some day the 



24 REFLECTIONS. 

wanderer will return, hoping that before long a favor- 
able wind will fan the sail of his little bark, and 
upon the ocean once more he will set sail toward 
home, and be guided into the port where all disap- 
pointments and doubts will fade away, when the star 
of hope in which we trusted sheds its heavenly efful- 
gence upon all, and gives us peace. 



\\ 7E are here to-day, but to-morrow we may be in a 
happier, fairer clime ; or we may be assigned 
to the darkest depths of misery and sorrow : who can 
tell? 



A SLUMBER SONG. 

Good-night ! dear friend ; sleep sweetly thou 
Within this chamber still ; 
May no sad dreams of yesterday 
Prevent thy sleeping now ! 

Think not of coming ills to-night ; 
Dispel all gloom and doubt ; 
Look up ! and trust thy Maker, Friend. 
Above, the stars shine bright. 

But ere thine eyelids close, dear one, 
Commit thy soul to God ; 
With happy thoughts fill thou the mind, 
Review the day just done. 



REFLECTIONS. 25 



Guard her, ye angels, ever bright ! 
Your faithful vigil keep ! 
To her, my little message bear — 
One kiss — a sweet good-night. 



/""ANE of the saddest things in life is the breaking 
^^ up of a home. Within those four walls how 
"much of life's realities have been passed! Children 
have been born and reared there, daughters and sons 
have married and left the dear parental roof for an- 
other; but, saddest of all, death, perchance, has not 
passed by without stopping and taking one or more 
of its occupants. What heart would not ache then, 
as room after room is robbed of its furniture and 
belongings ? Old heirlooms, family portraits, and 
everything movable is removed, who can tell where ? 
Fond memories are twined around many a thing 
taken from the old, familiar place. Who, with a 
heart, can tear away tendrils like these without a 
tear dimming the eye, or a sigh coming unbidden 
and unknown ? 

Each room is a shrine. In one a loved family 
once gathered around a blazing hearth-fire ; in an- 
other life's staff was partaken of ; outside of a third 
we stand sadly looking in — ah ! what a holy place, 
we say to ourselves. Mother died here, or father 
breathed his last in this room. How can I go ? this 
place is so dear to me. 



26 REFLECTIONS. 

At the door the teamster stands, ready to transport 
our worldly goods into his wagon to some storage 
rooms or auction mart ; but, thank God ! our fondest 
treasures are where neither moth nor rust can cor- 
rupt, where some day we will find them, brighter and 
more beautiful than when we parted with them. 
They, dear, faithful ones, wait for us in Paradise, to 
welcome us to our new home, where no separations 
come, and where never a tear dims the eye. "0 
Paradise ! Paradise ! 'tis weary waiting here." 
Load after load goes away. The last to go is the 
piano. Although the case is closed and covered, 
sweetly and softly like strains from an Eolian harp 
seem to come from this instrument Tosti's " Good- 
by," or " I cannot sing the old songs." Ah ! where 
are they who have brought all kinds of music from 
this piano ? Safe in my Father's house. 

The blinds are closed, a final tour of each apart- 
ment made, the key placed in the keyhole, the door 
made fast. Instead of the old, familiar door-plate, 
one sees nothing but a blank space. So we go, one 
by one ; the places that knew us once will know us 
no more. Few will miss us but for a little while ; 
but what matters it? Above, how gladly they will 
welcome us home. 

Father will be there ; mother will fold us to her 
breast once again, as she used to when we went to 
her with our troubles. Brother and sister will re- 



REFLECTIONS. 27 

ceive us so warmly that our home coming will be to 
us like a new birth into a beautiful garden. 



PAST MEMORIES. 

Only a letter quite wrinkled and torn, 
Only a ring quite plain, but not worn. 

Ah, what is this here ? oh, simply a glove 
That she used to wear, my one, only love. 

And these ? I remember, were violets blue, 
Which told of my love so true. 

love, true and noble ! dear idol of mine, 
Within my poor heart is thy image divine. 

And she was my bride of only a year ; 
My guardian angel, I know thou art near. 

Ah, loved one ! some day I shall see thee again, 
When death shall relieve me from trouble and pain. 

No more parting for us ; all is well near the throne, 
In that land where the stranger is never alone. 



T^HANK God ! there is a place where we shall again 
behold the faces of those lost for a while to our 
mortal vision ; only a veil separates us ; our loved 
ones are but just beyond. 



28 REFLECTIONS. 

A VIOLET. 

Only a violet, withered and dead, 

Pressed in a book, I found to-night. 
How came it here ? to myself I said, 

Poor little flower ! you once were so bright. 

I remember, ah, yes ! pretty violet sweet, 

You revive pleasant memories of days gone by ; 

How strange, after years, that we two should meet, 
Away in this book I left you to die ! 

Sweet violet ! thou art the last of them all ; 

I preserved you, dear floweret, for the sake of old 
days; 
And the memories of by-gone years to recall, 

Was the reason I kept you, and will always. 

Thy name is love, and from love you came ; 

I remember well who gaveth thee ; 
My heart how it throbs at the thought of that name ; 

Thou art, precious violet, the flower for me. 



How soothing is the Father's healing balm to the 
wounded, aching heart ! 



THE two dearest, choicest names in all the world 

to me are mother and friend. A good mother 

is both. No tongue can tell, no pen portray, her 



REFLECTIONS, 29 

worth. Never yet has man half extolled her, and 
the day has not yet dawned that the sage has written 
his best ode to her. No child yet living has been 
grateful enough to her for his or her being. A eu- 
logy, full of love and thankfulness for her, has yet to 
be delivered ; and a prayer for mother for her watch- 
fulness, sacrifices, and love over and for her chil- 
"dren, has yet to ascend to God's throne. The debt 
we owe these mothers we can never, never discharge; 
only the interest on this debt can we meet, and this 
we can pay with love. 

The second dearest name to me is friend. Oh, how 
it rings in my ear ! The world contains a very few 
good friends. There are many who masquerade as 
such, many who play, as it were, a burlesque on 
friendship. I know of nothing that comes so close 
to motherhood as this. I need my friend as I do 
medicine when I am sick, or the sun after a season 
of rain and cloud. For what person among us has 
not some time in his life yearned, yea, hungered, so to 
speak, for the love and companionship of a congenial 
soul, whose heart-beats we can feel because that one 
holds us so close ; it is then that heart answereth to 
heart. 

Give me the friend whom I can rely upon, one with- 
out a weather-vane disposition, not easily provoked, 
one willing to suffer for my sake, if need be, and one 
who is kind and forgiving. 



30 REFLECTIONS. 

I would like my friend the possessor of an affec- 
tionate nature. I do not mean by this, one with a 
superabundance of this passion, but a person I can 
approach, feeling that my kiss or caress will be re- 
ciprocated or lovingly received ; for, after all, we do 
not receive nor bestow as much affection upon those 
we profess to love as we will some day wish we had, 
when it is too late, when death has set his seal upon 
lips, and made cold the hands which we wish had re- 
ceived more of our caresses. Why keep the best you 
have now, to bestow then ? Think you, my friend, 
that a flower given now and then, or a small gift be- 
stowed upon a loved one, or, best of all, a kiss, or the 
pressure of your friendly hand, would not be prized 
or remembered for a long while ? I tell you you 
would be loved all the more. How little we are ap- 
preciated in this busy world ! Our best intentions 
are often misconstrued. It is because we are too in- 
different ; we do not love and are not trustful enough, 
hence we suffer. Why are we not thankful for what 
God has given us ? I could receive no better gift 
from His hands than a friend worthy the name. This, 
is no ideal friendship, but as it was meant to be. 



Forget self; by doing this you remember some- 
body. 

Few friends stand the test of time. 



REFLECTIONS. 31 

/^\H that we might have, stationed along our path 
^-^ in life at short intervals, ideal characters, or 
those as near the ideal as is possible, that we might 
look up to them and read the noble qualities im- 
printed upon their faces, telling us how we might 
improve and become as they are ! What a help these 
human sign-boards would be to us as we pass on and 
on to the journey's end ! 



YEARNING. 

Dear friend, I long for thee, 
For thee alone. 

One kiss from thee to-night — 
Come, love, to me. 

One pressure of thy hand, 
Thy hand so strong ; 
One look from thy dear eyes, 
Doubts, fears, withstand. 

Into my listening ear 
Breath words of love. 
Weary am I to-night ; 
I need thee here. 



This earth is but a schoolhouse, and life our s hool- 
days are. 

Unto others do as you would have them do to you. 



32 REFLECTIONS. 

THOUGHTS. 

I think of thee, beloved, among the angel band ; 
How happy and how holy must be the life above, 
The life that knows no sorrow, nor parting, pain, nor 

tears — 
Unchanging scenes elysian make fair the better land. 

fair and beauteous city ! I long to see thy walls. 
Thou bright and distant country, how verdant are thy 

fields, 
How restful are thy pastures, where flow the cooling 

streams ! 
Outside the gates I'll tarry, and wait till Jesus calls. 

Beloved, dost thou love me, and know me by that 

name, — 
The name you used to call me when we were happy, 

young ? 
Do you, in that fair Eden, hold dear the loves of 

earth ? 
Or are we quite forgotten ? are all as one, the same ? 



A TRUE friend would forgive, a false friend might 
be expected to harbor ill-feeling. The first is 
always ready to kiss, and let by-gones be by-gones ; 
the latter will not see forgiveness in her dictionary, 
she had rather by far cherish unkindness. God par- 
don these relentless mortals when they stand in the 
presence of the just Judge. 



REFLECTIONS. 33 

CHRISTMAS. 

In the night I heard sweet voices chanting hymns of 
praise ; 

Stars were shining up in heaven, and the sky was 
blue and clear ; 

In my bed I sat and listened to these heavenly, sa- 
cred lays ; 
"Then I thought, and said, "'Tis Christmas, these aru 
angels that I hear." 

And I wondered if my loved ones were joining with 
the throng ; 

For I thought that all the angels must be singing 
Christmas morn : 

I arose, and by the window tried to learn the heav- 
enly song, 

I could plainly hear them chanting, " Christ the Lord 
to-day is born ! " 



GIVING. 

Do unto all as best you can, 

Remembering well you ask the same. 
Give what you have of earthly store, 

Cause some poor heart to bless thy name. 

Give not to win renown and praise ; 

Thy earthly gifts with love bestow. 
Do good — live well — trust God alone ; 

Thy heart's best good He well doth know. 



34 REFLECTIONS. 

Remember, time is not our own ; 

This earth is but a resting-place ; 
High, higher yet, we all must climb, 

If we would find the throne of grace. 



(^ O out into the world and do thy part ; let no 
^* cloister doors bar thee from the freedom God 
intended thee to enjoy ; there are countless opportu- 
nities for doing good outside such walls. How nar- 
row such souls must be who seek this seclusion. 



A LOVE SONG. 

Only to thee, my beloved, 
One song I will sing to-night ; 

Only of thee I am thinking, 

As the pale moon comes into sight. 

What shall the song be, dearest ? 

Let me see ere I touch the guitar ; 
What was the song you loved so, 

Ere you left me to wander afar ? 

I recall the sweet notes to-night, dear, 
The song we both knew so well ; 

The strings that I touch so softly — 
Of longing and love they tell. 



If we knew the heart-aches we cause each other, 
would we do differently, think you ? 



REFLECTIONS. 



\ \ 7HY be indifferent and thoughtless while we stay 
' * here? Would it not be as well to be kind 
and considerate, and make those about us happy ? 



How lovely if we could be known by our friends 
as we are, not as we appear on the surface. 



Why seek forgiveness, if we are not willing to 
forgive ? 

TWO LETTEES. 

Two letters on my table, worn and soiled, they meet 
my gaze. 
Every day I look them over, more than once I read 
them through. 
At night, among my treasures, they find a place 
always ; 
In a casket, there I lay them, tied about with rib- 
bon blue. 



IV A USIC is the whisperings of angels ; to you and 
■ me they breathe of Jove and joy. We make 

our own sorrowful harmony, not they, as we receive 
these whisperings ; we express them as we feel ; an 
angel's life is not one of sorrow, but rather full of 

joy. 



36 REFLECTIONS. 

[ THINK it would take more than one fault to turn 
me against a friend I have tried and trusted for 
years. 

TTOW sweetly the sun smiles upon us, ungrateful 
mortals, how delicious is the odor of the flow- 
ers, how prettily the stars twinkle, how beautifully 
the light of the grand old moon bathes the earth in 
splendor, and the gentle rain kisses earth, the spot- 
less snow bedecks and mantles everything, lightning 
terrorizes and thunder subdues us ! Have you ever 
thought who made all of these ? Oh, the sweetness 
and magnificence of it all ! 



IN AFTER YEARS. 

In after years what will we say 

Of deeds unkind we did to-day ? 

With pride or shame, with smiles or tears, 

Will we think o'er the by-gone years ° 

Will not our friend recall some bitter word 
W T e spoke in haste, she rather not have heard ? 
We heeded not, though tears bedimmed the eye 
Of that dear friend, whose love will never die. 

And what for us to-day remains ? 

A conscience full of guilty pains, 

A longing for forgiveness from the friend 

We wounded so, remorse unto the end. 



REFLECTIONS. 37 

Think you she longs for brighter days ? 
Believe it, that for you she prays ? 
Yes, yes ; she loves her heart's own friend, 
And willingly the break would mend. 

Perchance I never more will meet 
In this wide world that friend to greet. 
It may be she will look on me 
When I am cold, and cannot see. 

If she should fall asleep ere I, 
I'd think of happy days gone by ; 
Within her lifeless hand I'd place 
Sweet violets blue, and kiss her pallid face. 



\\ THY we have to suffer and endure so much here, 
we will some day know, and rejoice if we 
have borne our cross patiently. I have not — how 
many have ? Many times it has been almost too 
much for me, I have become overburdened by its 
weight so often. 

VX 7HY take God's time for our own ? We have 
six days, while He asks for but one, the 
seventh. We have no right to it. Whosoever does 
upon that most holy day what he ought not to do, 
is stealing time which is not his own, and sinning 
against his best Friend. Watch! for ye know not 
when death will come. W r ill you be found doing that 



38 REFLECTIONS. 

which would please the King, or ashamed to meet 
Him face to face ? Be in the watch-towers, looking 
for His coming. He is not far off, watch ye ! 



TNLESS our characters are assailed, why let anger 
^ assert itself because our foolish pride has been 
wounded ? The best of us cannot stand any ill 
reflection upon the former, without showing a 
wounded spirit. 

Boring into a person's character is a dangerous 
and cruel thing to do. All have some redeeming 
traits, which, when known, commend the possessor 
of them to some one who is sure to admire them. 
If one truly loves another, his or her fine qualities 
of character are imitated and loved. A true friend 
would never, in a moment of passion, hold up some- 
body else as being the owner of traits superior to 
yours. To assail a person's character is a mean, 
unchristian act to do, and almost an unpardonable 
sin. 

T HOPE that when I am done with this earth, when 
I reach Paradise, that it will be my privilege 
to find an adjoining garden to that fair city, wherein 
I shall find all my dear, dumb friends whom I have 
loved in this world. They were such true compan- 
ions, and so good, I should so like to see them again, 
to visit them, as I would a deer-park, or a conserva- 



BEFLECTIONS. 39 

tory of flowers, adjacent to a friend's garden in some 
beautiful country. Some of my dearest, truest 
friends have been dumb. I needed but to look into 
their beautiful eyes to read their love ; going home 
to them was something to look forward to with 
pleasure, for I knew so well they would be glad to 
^ give me a welcome. Doubly dear to me, then, will 
" be the last going home, if, besides meeting my loved 
kith and kin, I shall see my mute friends once again, 
happy and loyal to me. I shall indeed be glad. 

How like the earth life (only more beautiful) it 
will all seem. 

The loving Father must have provided a home 
somewhere above for His dear dumb creatures. 
They are His. He made and loved them, and placed 
them in our keeping. I am sorry for the person who 
does not love them too. Surely they are not beneath 
the Father's notice, and He careth for them all. 



We all err, but a few of us do right. The first 
are human, the latter well-nigh divine. 



|_JOW different to us seemed the world and our 
friends a few years ago, and how widely at va- 
riance they will both appear just ere the curtain falls 
and shuts from our view those which we once loved 



40 REFLECTIONS. 

so well. The world will not miss us, and our friends 
but a little. To-day we are welcome, to-morrow for- 



KEMEMBEKED. 

Tis sweet to be remembered, if only for a day ; 
'Tis sweetest to be cherished, true-hearted people 

say; 
To love is right and noble, ordained by God to be ; 
To be loved is heaven's blessing, bestowed on you 

and me. 



God is a kind master. He will not burden our 
shoulders with more than we can bear. 



JUST ere we close our eyes upon these earthly 
scenes for the last time, just before everything 
is veiled in mist, will not some sorrow or sin we have 
committed in this life, some injury we have done 
another, come up before us ? Will we not then wish 
we could right that wrong just before the slender 
threads of life are broken ? 

If Ave could, would we have summoned to our 
death-bed that one whom we know full well we 
wronged, perhaps years ago, when we were too proud 
to ask forgiveness ? Will we leave this earth with 
never a word of pardon, with never a farewell mes- 
sage, for the one we loved in the old days ? 



REFLECTIONS. 41 

We walk this earth, but once ; after we bid adieu 
to it we never come back to make amends for our 
wrongs ; never do we return to wipe away tears which 
bedim the eyes of the true friend we never asked 
pardon of for all the unkindness we did her. 

Ah, no ! if not here, we can never press the hand, 
nor kiss the brow, of her who would have gladly 
granted forgiveness if we had but asked it. 

How many, many broken hearts, how many sad 
secrets, are laid in the grave with our poor bodies, 
while the broken friendships of earth are without 
number. 

God is just ; our faults and failings he pities, our 
sins he forgives, while those we once called friends 
do neither; therefore it behooves us to look to Him 
when earthly comforts fail. 



Y\ 7HY harbor ill-feelings ? Why should you ex- 
pect God to forgive you if you will not forgive 
your brother ? 

Y\ 70ULD we, think you, neglect an earthly friend 
whom we professed to love, as we do our heav- 
enly Father, whose blessings are as numberless as 
the grains of sand on the seashore, and whose love 
for us passeth all understanding ? I think not. 
How, then, will we appear when we meet Him face to 
face? 



42 REFLECTIONS. 

A LIFE WELL SPENT. 

Do good, be good, while travelling through this- 
world ; 

Footprints in the sand will tell which way the trav- 
eller went ; 

Deeds, noble, kind, let friends recall thou didst, 

And say, when thou art gone, hers was a life well 
spent. 

Think well of everybody until you have reason to 
think otherwise. 

IN HIS PRESENCE. 

My God ! I know not what to say 
When I shall see Thy kindly face ; 
How I have wronged Thee, disobeyed — 
For pardon, Lord, I humbly pray. 

How oft I err, Thou well dost know ; 
How well I love the garish day ; 
Gladly I take Thy blessings great, 
And praises few on Thee bestow. 

Ungrateful I, unworthy to receive, 
Forgetful when my heart should sing; 
Prayers, songs, and thanks to Thee belong — 
Forbid me not, I Thee believe. 

Dear Judge ! when face to face we meet, 
When I shall stand before Thy throne, 
Forgive my sins of by-gone years, 
And let me rest forever at Thy feet. 



REFLECTIONS. 43 

Oh to be found worthy a place in His home ! 



ALL WILL BE WELL. 

Some time, when the long, sad life is ended, 

All will be well. 
When darkest clouds give place to sunshine, 

All will be well. 

Some day the tear-filled eye will brighten, 

All will be well. 
We look not here for balms to heal our sorrows, 

T'would not be well. 

Sad heart ! to-day I hear a loving whisper — 

All will be well. 
Wait thou ! a little longer suffer, 

It will be well. 

A little while, and clouds will quickly vanish, 

All will be well. 
Tears will be dried, and sorrow ever banished, 

All must be well. 

Faint not, nor let the heart grow weary, 

It will be well. 
Ere thou shalt leave this earth, be ready — Trust 
Him! 

All will be well. 



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